The National Geographic Visions of Paradise Photography Contest begins October 21, 2008, at 12:01:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time and ends December 21, 2008, 11:59:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time ("ET") (the "Contest"). Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these official rules ("Official Rules"). By submitting an entry, each entrant agrees to the Official Rules and warrants that his or her entry complies with all requirements set out in the Official Rules. This is a skill-based contest, and chance plays no part in the determination of winners.

Who May Enter

The Contest is open only to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada (excluding the province of Quebec), who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry. Employees of National Geographic Society, and its subsidiaries and affiliates, and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling, and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such employees, whether or not related, are not eligible. CONTEST IS VOID IN PUERTO RICO, THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC, AND WHERE PROHIBITED.

1. How to Enter

NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY, AND A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. To enter, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/myvision; create an account with the required information, including your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address; fill out the entry form with the required information, including photo title, caption, and tags; and upload your photograph in accordance with the requirements below.
Entries should address the question: What is my vision of Heaven on Earth? Each entrant may submit entries at different times during the entry period, but no entrant may submit more than ten (10) entries. If an entrant exceeds this limit, Sponsor may at its absolute discretion either disqualify all the entrant's entries or select at its absolute discretion entries to go forward for judging and reject the remainder.

Each entry must comply with the following requirements (the "Photograph Requirements"):

Photographs must be in digital format. Only online entries will be eligible. No print or film submissions will be accepted for entry into this Contest. The photograph need not be taken with a digital camera; scans of negatives, transparencies, or photographic prints are acceptable. All digital files must be 5 megabytes or smaller, must be in JPEG or JPG format, and must be at least 2,200 pixels wide (if a horizontal image) or 2,200 pixels tall (if a vertical image).

Photographs may not previously have won an award in any National Geographic photography contest in the last three years.

Minor burning, dodging and/or color correction is acceptable. Hand tinting is acceptable, as is cropping. Fish-eye lenses are acceptable. High dynamic range images (HDRI) and stitched panoramas are acceptable only if the combined parts are all made around the same time. Any changes to the original Photograph not itemized here are unacceptable and will render the Photograph ineligible for a prize.

Photographs that include sculptures, statues, paintings, and other works of art will be accepted as long as they do not constitute copyright infringement or fraud; provided entrants must be prepared to provide a release form as described below in "Release." When photographing the work of others, it must be as an object in its environment and not a full-frame close-up of another person's art.

The photograph, in its entirety, must be a single work of original material taken by the Contest entrant. By entering the Contest, entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted photograph is an original work created solely by the entrant, that the photograph does not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or intellectual property rights of any person or entity, and that no other party has any right, title, claim, or interest in the photograph.

The photograph must not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of the Sponsor, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, sexually explicit, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content.

Entries will be judged in accordance with the Judging Criteria, as defined below. All entries must be submitted and received by December 21, 2008, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt. Entries must be made by the authorized account holder of the email address submitted at the time of entry. "Authorized account holder" is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an email address by an Internet access provider, online service provider, internet domain owner, or other person or organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning email addresses for the domain associated with the submitted email address. Sponsor reserves the right to examine the original photograph/source material in order to confirm compliance with these rules.

2. Releases

If the photograph contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, and/or if any persons appear in the photograph, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the photograph, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the exhibition and use of the photograph in the manner set forth in these Official Rules without additional compensation. If any person appearing in any photograph is under the age of majority in their state/province/territory of residence the signature of a parent or legal guardian is required on each release.

Upon Sponsor's request, each entrant must be prepared to provide (within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of Sponsor's request) a signed release from all persons who appear in the photograph submitted, and/or from the owner of any material that appears in the photograph entry, authorizing Sponsor and its licensees ("Authorized Parties") to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in whole or in part, without further review or participation from the releasor, in any medium now existing or subsequently developed, in editorial, commercial, promotional and trade uses in connection with NGS Products (as defined in "License" below). All releases must be in the form provided by Sponsor. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification at any time during the Contest and selection of an alternate winner.

Similarly, upon Sponsor's request, each entrant must be prepared to provide (within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of Sponsor's request) a signed written license from the copyright owner of any sculpture, artwork, or other copyrighted material that appears in the photograph entry, authorizing any Authorized Party to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in whole or in part, without further review or participation from the owner, in any medium now existing or subsequently developed, in editorial, commercial, promotional and trade uses in connection with NGS Products (as defined in "License" below). All releases must be in the form provided by Sponsor. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.

Finally, upon Sponsor's request, each entrant must be prepared to provide (within seven (7) calendar days of receipt of Sponsor's request) a signed written license from the owner of any private property included in the photograph entry, authorizing any Authorized Party to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry in whole or in part, without further review or participation from the property owner, in any medium now existing or subsequently developed, in editorial, commercial, promotional and trade uses in connection with NGS Products (as defined in "License" below). All releases must be in the form provided by Sponsor. Failure to provide such releases upon request may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.

For the purposes of these Official Rules, the entrant will be deemed to be in receipt of Sponsor's request or notification, (a) in the event that Sponsor sends the request by postal mail, five business days after the request was sent by Sponsor, or (b) in the event that Sponsor sends the request by email, on the day that the email was sent by Sponsor.

3. Contest Prizes

Twenty (20) Winners will each receive a free copy of the National Geographic book Visions of Paradise, customized with the winner's winning photograph as the cover image. Approximate Retail Value ("ARV") of each prize is $35.00. The prize is nontransferable, and no cash alternative is available. In addition, each winner's winning photograph will be displayed in the Winners section of the contest web site.

Potential winners shall be required to sign and return within ten (10) days following an attempted notification, an Affidavit, Declaration or Certificate of Eligibility, Liability Release, and where legally permissible, a Publicity Release and Warranty of Ownership and License in which the entrant warrants that he/she is the owner of the photograph (and all the intellectual property rights in the photograph submitted) and grants to Sponsor and its licensees the irrevocable perpetual, nonexclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works of the entry (along with a name credit) in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest without additional compensation. Failure to execute and deliver any required documents to Sponsor by the specified deadline may result in disqualification from the Contest, and selection of an alternate potential winner.

No prize transfer, assignment, or substitution by winners permitted. If a prize (or part of a prize) is unavailable, the Sponsor, in its discretion, reserves the right to substitute the original prize (or that part of the prize) with an alternative prize to the equal monetary value and/or specification, unless to do so would be prohibited by law. NONCOMPLIANCE OR RETURN OF PRIZE NOTIFICATION AS UNDELIVERABLE, WHETHER BY REGULAR MAIL OR BY EMAIL, MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION AND SELECTION OF AN ALTERNATE POTENTIAL WINNER.

4. Judging

Contest consists of two (2) rounds of evaluation. In round one, each week a photographic expert (Editor) will select the top twenty (20) images from among all eligible images received during the preceding 7-day period, based on creativity (50%) and photographic quality (50%) (the "Judging Criteria"). These may, in Sponsor's discretion, be displayed online as the Editor's Picks for the week. The entries selected in round one will proceed to round two. In round two, an expert panel of judges (Judges), including art directors and photographers, will select twenty Winners from the entries selected in round one, based on the Judging Criteria. In the event of a tie, the tied entries will be resubmitted to the Judges for a rejudging between the tied entries alone. In the event that a tie remains after rejudging, the entry with the highest score in the creativity criteria will be declared the winner. Winners will be chosen on or around January 12, 2009 and notified by email by January 14, 2009. Decisions of the Judges are final and binding.

5. License

By entering the Contest, all entrants grant to NGS and its licensees (the "Authorized Parties"), an irrevocable, perpetual non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries (along with a name credit) in whole or in part, in connection with the Contest and promotion of the Contest, in any media now or hereafter known, including, but not limited to: Display at potential exhibitions; publication of books featuring select entries in the Contest; publication in National Geographic Magazine or online highlighting entries or winners of the Contest. Entrants consent to the Sponsor doing or omitting to do any act that would otherwise infringe the entrant’s “moral rights” in their entries. Display or publication of any entry on an Authorized Party’s website does not indicate the entrant will be selected as a winner. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use. Additionally, by entering, each entrant grants to Authorized Parties the unrestricted right to use all statements made in connection with the Contest, and pictures or likenesses of Contest entrants, or choose not to do so, at their sole discretion. Authorized Parties will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such use.

6. Limitation of Liability

By entering this Contest, all entrants agree to release, discharge, and hold harmless National Geographic Society and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors, and representatives from any claims, losses, and damages arising out of their participation in this Contest or any Contest-related activities and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any prize awarded hereunder.
National Geographic Society assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Contest entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. NGS is not responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrants' or any other persons' computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to in this Contest.

In the case of entrants who are U.K. residents, the preceding two clauses do not operate in respect of any implied condition or warranty the exclusion of which from these Official Rules would contravene any U.K. statute or cause any part of these Official Rules to be void.

7. Conditions

THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Entrants agree that this Contest shall be subject to and governed by and subject to the laws of the District of Columbia and the forum for any dispute shall be in the District of Columbia, United States of America. To the extent permitted by law, the right to litigate, to seek injunctive relief or to make any other recourse to judicial or any other procedure in case of disputes or claims resulting from or on connection with this Contest are hereby excluded and any entrant expressly waives any and all such rights. Certain restrictions may apply. Entries void if the Sponsor determines the photograph to not be an original, or if the entries are illegible, incomplete, damaged, irregular, altered, counterfeit, produced in error or obtained through fraud or theft.

By entering, entrants also agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) that the decisions of the Judges are final and binding with respect to all matters relating to the Contest; and (c) if the entrant wins that Sponsor may use the winning photographs and each winner's name, photograph, likeness, and/or voice in any publicity or advertising relating to any NGS product without compensation or approval (except where prohibited by law). All federal, state/provincial/territorial, and local taxes, fees and surcharges and taxes (whether foreign or domestic, and including income, sales, and import taxes) on prizes are the sole responsibility of the prize winners. In the event that the selected winner(s) of any prize is/are ineligible, cannot be traced or does/do not respond within ten (10) days to a winner notification as required by the "Contest Prizes" Rules above, or refuses the prize, the prize will be forfeited and Sponsor, in its sole discretion, may choose whether to award the prize to another entrant.

The Sponsor reserves the right to verify the validity and originality of any entry and/or entrant (including an entrant's identity and address) and to disqualify any entrant who submits an entry that is not in accordance with these Official Rules or who tampers with the entry process. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.

8. Right to Cancel or Suspend Contest

If for any reason the Contest is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, trojan horses, denial of service attacks, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of NGS that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Contest, NGS reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the entry process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest. If Sponsor elects to cancel or terminate the Contest, Sponsor will not retain any rights in the submitted photographs.

9. Winners List

Entrants are responsible for complying with these Official Rules. Winners' names will be available online at www.nationalgeographic.com/myvision after January 14, 2009. Alternatively, for names of winners send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to National Geographic Society, Attention: Visions Contest, 1145 17th Street N.W., Room 648 Washington, D.C. 20036-4688.

10. Data Privacy

Entrants agree that personal data, especially name and address, may be processed, shared, and otherwise used for the purposes and within the context of the Contest and any other purposes outlined in these Official Rules. The data may also be used by the Sponsor in order to verify the participant's identity, postal address, and telephone number or to otherwise verify the participant's eligibility to participate in the Contest. Participants have the right to access, review, rectify, or cancel any personal data held by Sponsor by writing to Sponsor at National Geographic Society, Attention: Visions Contest, 1145 17th Street N.W., Room 648 Washington, D.C. 20036-4688. Personal data will be used by Sponsor and its affiliates exclusively for the purposes stated herein.
NOTICE TO INDIVIDUALS: REMOVAL FROM MAILING LIST: Any individual (or other duly authorized person) may elect to exclude the name and address of that individual from all lists used by National Geographic Society to mail skill contests or sweepstakes. To elect to have an individual's name excluded from all such lists, submit a removal request in writing to: National Geographic Society, Attention: Visions Contest, 1145 17th Street N.W., Room 648 Washington, D.C. 20036-4688. This notification system may be used to prohibit mailing of all skill contests or sweepstakes by National Geographic Society to such individual.

To enter and to view complete Official Rules, go to www.nationalgeographic.com/myvision. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY AND A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE CHANCES OF WINNING. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, Canada (excluding Quebec), the United Kingdom, and Ireland who are 18 years and older at the time of entry. Employees of Sponsor National Geographic Society and related parties are ineligible. Contest begins October 21, 2008 and all entries must be received by December 21, 2008 at 11:59 pm ET.